Future History
by Optimus Magnus
Summary: Why I named it 'Future History' is beyond me.  It could have deep philosophical meaning.  Of it could mean I needed a break form caffine.  Songfic


Future History  
  
Notes and disclaimer: All characters are owned by their respective creators and companies. The song 'Hammer to Fall' is property of Queen and the Freddie Mercury estate. (Or something)  
  
Here we stand or here we fall History won't care at all Make the bed, light the light Lady Mercy won't be home tonight  
  
Shinji was in his Eva facing the next Angel, it was relatively easy compared to the others and was quickly disposed of, in fact; the Angel was defeated by Asuka and Rei without his help. And although Shinji would never dare to tell Asuka, but that was actually the first time she had defeated an Angel without him [Will I be in the history books when this is all said and done, or are we destined to become unsung heroes, Asuka may get a better reception back in Germany, but what about me and Rei?] he wondered in curiosity as Misato called them all back. Before they went home, she told them that they were all to stay in her apartment as an extremist group had been threatening them via mail recently and Misato's apartment was better protected than Rei's "I won't be home for a few more hours or maybe even at all tonight, so be glad, I don't have to cook dinner" she said, smiling as they were driven home by a Section 2 agent.  
  
You don't waste no time at all Don't hear the bell but you answer the call It comes to you as to us all We're just waiting for the hammer to fall  
  
Asuka was on the phone, to whom, Shinji did not know or care, Rei had been taken to her apartment by another agent to get clothes and was supposed to arrive fifteen minutes ago and it was worrying him, he cared for Rei, and after she had criminally showed disregard for her life to save his own during the operation to kill the 5th Angel, he had made a promise, if she ever fell in combat after he did all he could to prevent it, he would avenge her ten fold. To this day, Shinji had no real idea why he made the promise, only that he intended to keep it, he would of course defend Asuka if the situation called for it, and while he felt something for Asuka, he never acted because he knew the fine line between love and lust, which every male, even Toji, felt for the red head. Shinji also never acted on the feelings swirling in his head for Rei for the opposite feelings but the same reason, he was unsure of what Rei really felt or even if she liked him at all after he fell on her, so as was his usual reaction, indecision stayed his hand and held his heart in check which allowed his misery to take over again. Shinji felt a tug in his head and instinctively went to the door; he opened it to reveal Rei, her hand poised to knock on the door.  
  
Oh, ev'ry night and every day A little piece of you is falling away But lift your face the Western Way Build your muscles as your body decays  
  
Shinji scrutinized the girl: she seemed thin and drawn out, and her cheeks looked paler than usual and she seemed exhausted as she nearly stumbled into the apartment "Ikari, I am very tired, may I rest in your room?" she asked, unknowingly giving Shinji a puppy-dog look as she swayed and fell into his chest, and yet again driven by instinct, Shinji caught her and tightened his arms around her "Yeah, I'll flop on the couch tonight" he said "PERVERTS" being screamed by none other than Asuka made them turn around "So, planning on joining her bed later 3rd Child, or are just going to jerk off in front of her?" she asked, earning an unusual deep throated growl from the boy "Why, a little starved of male attention are we, want me to be your man-whore or something?" he asked nastily and helped Rei to his room and closed the door, Asuka could hear feint apologies to the 1st Child from Shinji regarding the behaviour of the pair. He came out of the room, grabbed some linen and lay down on the couch, "Fuck off Asuka, I am not interested" he said before she could open her mouth again, she stood there for too long as his even breathing alerting her to the fact that he was asleep [Asshole] she thought and went to her own room and went to bed.  
  
Toe your line and play their game Let the aesthetic cover it all Till one day they call your name You know it's time for the hammer to fall  
  
Rei was having trouble sleeping, so she looked around for something to put her to sleep or spend some energy on and her eyes settle on an old tape player that belonged to Shinji, picking it up she pressed play and allowed some music to flow. It started with the song 'No Aphrodisiac' by The Whitlams, an unusual smile found its way to her face as she listened to the song and quickly fell asleep to the strains of 'To The Moon And Back' by Savage Garden, after 'No Aphrodisiac' finished. At the main science lab inside Nerv, Ritsuko was puzzling over her microscope looking at a blood sample taken from Rei after the 13th Angel and one taken six months previous [This cannot happen, if this pathogen is operating how I think it is, Ikari's plan is snuffed and all this suffering is for naught. I wonder how Shinji would take this?], she wondered about the reaction of the younger Ikari towards this news, although she was no expert in reading signs of romantic love she could always feel a pleasant vibe between the two, and it always made her hopeful. Her relationship with Gendo was based purely on lust and need which is why she had trouble interpreting signs; she was lustful and needed a good shag, he needed a scientist [You scratch my back and I'll scratch yours] was how she analogized her relationship to be and looked at the blood samples once more, just to be sure.  
  
Rich or poor or famous For your truth it's all the same Lock your door the rain is pouring Through your window pane Baby now your struggle's all in vain  
  
Rei awoke at the Katsuragi apartment feeling even weaker than she had last night; a feeling of nausea had also made its presence known to her and she was hating every minute of it [Cursed illness] she thought with an unnatural anger as she stumbled out of the room, right into Shinji who had just come out of the shower so he only had a towel on and Rei was in her 'away from home' sleeping attire: her underwear and a shirt which was open anyway. The pair fell down in the hallway, and in her drowsiness, Rei had wrapped her arms around Shinji's neck and her head had fallen onto his chest and the thud they made landing brought Misato and Asuka running like lightening "I KNEW IT YOU PERVERTED BOY, YOU" she screamed at the bemused boy under the tired Rei [What did I do?] he thought as several insane things happened at once "Ooh Shinji and Rei huh, oh the girls at the office will lap this up, hey Asuka, I'll bet I can tell more people at work than you can at school" Misato joked as Shinji turned bright red, the fact that Rei's bust was pressed into his chest was not helping matters any either [Just fucking once god, just once I would like to have a day go by in which I don't become a scapegoat or the butt of a thousand jokes] he mentally traced his dream day. Rei came to her senses slightly "That felt interesting" she muttered before groaning in a low voice, the two hysterical (one with laughter and one with anger) women took that as further confirmation that the two had slept together "Without sounding rude, Rei, can you please get off me?" he asked, then he noticed Rei was bleeding from the nose "Misato, Rei's nose is bleeding, help her up and see to it while I get dressed please" he said, Misato snapped herself to alertness at the mention of 'Rei' and 'blood' in the same sentence and helped the girl to the bathroom, while Shinji scrambled to his bedroom to get dressed and escape Asuka who had already retreated to the kitchen, as soon as he was dressed, he had to chuckle "Oh well, I suppose that makes us even" he said. Rei looked at the blood on the tissue and sighed [It was all in vain, I caught it, and now nothing can save me] she thought as Misato found her some clean clothes to wear, she looked out of the window and as if on cue, a thunderclap sounded, "It is raining" she said.  
  
For we grew up tall and proud In the shadow of the mushroom cloud Convinced our voices can't be heard We just wanna scream it louder and louder  
  
Ritsuko was preparing a hospital bed; it was more comfortable than the others as its occupant was likely to spend the rest of her days here and she, despite her misgivings regarding the person, would not have wished this on her in a million years [Why do the good die young, they don't deserve to] she thought in sadness as she placed the call to Misato to bring Rei to the hospital "Why, need to run a few tests?" she asked, still chortling at Shinji's predicament a minute ago "No Misato, Rei's dying. When the 13th Angel attacked her, it released a pathogen into her blood, it's cancerous in nature and is slowly destroying her immune system and will kill her. I want you to bring her here so her last ten days are spent in comfort" she said sadly, two thuds answered her, one was faint and dull, which she later guessed after hearing Shinji scream was the phone hitting the ground and the louder thud, the first one, was Rei hitting the ground. Shinji sat by Rei at her bedside for many hours before succumbing to sleep. Misato was biting her nails at the sight; it pained her to see Rei in this condition after all she had been through and survived, to be killed by a goddamn virus "How long has he been there?" Maya asked when she saw an unconscious Shinji with his head on the side of Rei's bed, Misato smiled "Eight hours, hasn't moved since" she said, Maya and indeed most Nerv staff held Shinji in high regard for his treatment of Rei, it was the most kind and human she'd ever had. Several days passed and her condition worsened, Shinji had stopped going to school and was becoming more and sadder as the days wore on, afraid that she would just die, without him saying goodbye. On what would officially be her last day of life, Rei woke up and saw Shinji in one of his rare states of sleep [I must tell him] she thought and woke him up.  
  
What the hell we fighting for? Just surrender and it won't hurt at all You just got time to say your prayers While you're waiting for the hammer to fall  
  
He opened his eyes groggily and saw she was awake; Rei had a drip and several other machines attached to her "Shinji, I must tell you a few things before I die" she said, an aura of sadness surrounded her, her voice weak "You're not going to die Rei, I won't let you" he said, almost childlike in his denial, she placed a hand on his cheek "Please listen, I am a clone, the 2nd so far. When I die my soul and some genetic knowledge is transferred to the new body, but the virus the Angel infected me with when it attacked me is almost telepathic, it attaches itself to the most advantageous genes and would be placed in the new body if I were to die and it would continue to multiply in my new body to the point to which I am at now and the cycle would just continue until either an antidote was made or they run out of my clones" she paused and looked at Shinji, he was surprised to hear this but decided that it was is turn to pour his heart out "Rei, when I got home after the 5th Angel, I made a vow: if the Angels killed you, I would return to them in pain ten fold what the did to you, I will keep that promise" he said, Rei's eye lit up with happiness at this news but she could feel her life force slipping away "Shinji, please, hold my hand, I'm scared" she said, close to tears, Shinji held her hand in a vice like grip, her heart rate was slowing, brain activity was lowering, she began crying "It's getting dark, Shinji I can't see you, don't let me go" she sobbed as her monitors went flat. To Shinji, the world became a blur of doctors and other people as they tried to revive Rei, with no success at it whatsoever. Ritsuko was giving a report to the commander "The virus will simply spread through the L.C.L. after we put her new shell in the machine, it would spread through the storage tank and infect the whole batch, and because it infects her little genetic memory that is taken with her soul, it is useless and therefore, for all intents and purposes sir, Rei Ayanami is dead" she said, Gendo didn't flinch. Shinji sat in the Eva gantry and looked at Unit 0 "Why didn't you save her, like my Eva has me, why am I so special, WHY DAMN YOU?" he screamed and threw the nearest object, which happened to be his SDAT, at the blue machine causing it to break just when the alarm sounded. Shinji clenched his fists and set his jaw and mind as he climbed into Eva 1 "It is revenge time Angels" he said and launched his Eva.  
  
The End 


End file.
